People have different fortes. Writing comes very naturally to some people where writing a 1000-word paper is a breeze while others may struggle with the subject. I feel as if I am right in the middle of the two extremes. I am not very worried about writing, but then again, I'm not very excited for it either. I consider myself the average writer -- if there is such a thing. In my experiences, grammar is a fairly easy subject to learn and understand - all it is is the ability to form sentences correctly (of course I make mistakes here and there). The area in which I lack strength is vocabulary. I feel that my vocabulary could use some fortification which would overall help determine my writing style and assist me in establishing a voice for my pieces of writing.
Back in high school, I became a very successful procrastinator. I would always wait for the last morning before a paper was due to write it, and quite frankly, I was very good at it. My writing pieces were always turned in on time and I had no trouble meeting the requirements so I wasn't very worried about the deadlines; however, my assignments lacked the quality I wanted them to have. They had no real flavor, they had no voice. Now that I am attending the Florida State University, I want to make a few changes. Instead of waiting until the last minute, I want to get ahead. I want my assignment to be the quality they are expected to be. I want to make my teacher proud and more importantly, I want to feel good about myself and the assignments that represent me as an individual and as a student at FSU.
If you want to incorporate new words into your writing reading is a great way to do that. Taking words that other authors have used in their work is a excellent way to increase the quality of your work. If reading is not your thing then the website wordnik.com is a great resource.
ReplyDeleteI procrastinated in high school too so I felt the same way. Now that I'm at FSU I want to change that habit and spread out large assignments over the course of a few days or a week ahead of time. I've discovered that dividing up assignments doesn't cause nearly as much stress as waiting until the day before the deadline. A good way to stick to this goal is to have a calendar and write down what you need to do each day.
ReplyDeleteReading is a good way to build vocabulary as the comment above mentioned.
I too have the issue of not having a rich vocabulary, I find myself repeating the same words to get a meaning across in a paper. What really helped me though was to use a Thesaurus, just to find a variety of words that are a bit more sophisticated and in depth. As far as the whole procrastination thing goes, I have been there! I cannot tell you the amount of times I would be up all night trying to finish a paper. But what happened in high school, was high school, look to the future as an opportunity to be better with your time and getting work completed without rushing. Not even not rushing, but having a product at the end that you are proud of.
ReplyDeleteI also have the same trouble with vocabulary at times. No matter how many words you know and use in everyday life, finding the right words to use in an essay to have that clever edge in your writing can be quite a task at times. As Alexander mentioned above, reading is a very efficient way to develop a stronger vocabulary. To retain the new, complex words you will find while reading, use the words in your writing as soon as you can (in context, of course). Don't limit using these words to strictly essays and other writing assignments. Incorporate your new vocabulary when communicating with peers and family, through text as well as speaking. I'm sure that if you do this, your vocabulary will progress drastically in no time!
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